◼ Solyndra loan supported by Obama fundraiser - Politico
A prominent 2008 Barack Obama fundraiser who held a key role in the Energy Department played an active part in Solyndra's $535 million loan guarantee despite conflict of interest concerns over his wife's work at a law firm that also represented the California solar company, according to internal Obama administration emails released Friday....◼ An elite Obama fundraiser hired to help oversee the administration's energy loan program pushed and prodded career Department of Energy officials to move faster in approving a loan guarantee for Solyndra - ABC News
In a series of emails sent on Aug. 28, 2009, Spinner expressed repeated frustrations with the Office of Management and Budget over the holdup on the Solyndra loan.
"Any word from OMB? I have the OVP and WH breathing down my neck on this," he wrote to DOE career staffer Kelly Colyar. "Just want to make sure we get their questions. They are getting itchy to get involved if needed. I don't want that."
"We got their questions last night," Colyar replied. "We've followed up on most, but the ball is still in our court. Bill has sent me some things, but it's not exactly what i need. i've requested more."
"How — hard is this? What is he waiting for?” Spinner replied. “Will we have it by end of day? If any risk of not, let me know."
"How do OMB's questions look? What you were expecting? How long for us to respond? Just so I can be better educated, can you share with me?" Spinner added.
In one of the new emails shared with ABC News and other news outlets Friday, the White House appears to be bracing for the political fallout -- one high ranking energy official in the White House warns shortly before Solyndra's bankruptcy, on Aug. 26, that what's coming is a "*#~@ show" and "a mess."◼ When Solyndra hit the fan in August, White House energy adviser Heather Zichal may have summed it up best.
In the lengthy email discussions that occurred in the days before the Solyndra loan closed in September 2009, Spinner emerges as a key figure in advocating for getting the deal done, apparently in an effort to score the loan as a political victory for President Obama. Many of the emails surround his efforts to coordinate plans for either President Obama or Vice President Biden to announce it as the administration's first loan approval -- one that he repeatedly notes will create clean energy jobs.
It is Spinner, for instance, who pushes for a "big event" with "golden shovels, bulldozers, hardhats, etc."
He also corresponds with career Department of Energy loan officials who are making the final decisions on the Solyndra loan. In one instance, he writes, "Hopefully, this might spur [the Office of Management and Budget] a little faster to help the closing."
Spinner also wrote an email two weeks before the Solyndra loan closed to an aide to Vice President Biden, identifying the private investors in the deal. He attached to the email a bio from Forbes Magazine of George Kaiser, an Oklahoma billionaire who raised up to $100,000 for Obama's 2008 campaign.
"*#~@ show," Zichal wrote in an email Aug. 25.
◼ E-mails suggest Rahm, and maybe Obama, pushed early to spotlight Solyndra amid financial warnings; Update: Obama appointee pushed Solyndra loan — despite conflict of interest with wife’s law firm - HotAir
Funny thing: ABC published a report about Spinner last week to which Jay Carney replied that, to the best of the White House’s knowledge, Spinner had no input on the green loans program. According to today’s e-mails, though, not only was Spinner evidently in contact with the White House — including Biden’s office! — about Solyndra, he corresponded directly with Solyndra’s VP of marketing. I can’t wait for the inevitable next round of e-mails in which we find out precisely what the people in Biden’s office were telling him.◼ Push to highlight Solyndra came from top levels of White House, according to e-mails - Washington Post
